Tag: spirituality

Christina Lundberg, Buddhist Film maker, and I explored the upside of a deep spiritual practice. Because here is the fact of life~

It is our Divine birthright to Know and radiate our Higher Selves.

But, how do we move into that birthright? We move past self grasping. We move out of the quest for self and into the Knowing of our Higher Self. That, my friends, takes practice. And for me, it is practice toward the goal of the Self that keeps me from losing my mind sometimes.

Learn about Christina’s incredible film, For the benefit of all beings, about Garchen Rinpoche and his powerful message

I lived half of my life thinking that everything that I saw with my eyes, felt with my emotions, and touched with my hands was all that there was for me to experience. Then I woke up. But, oh, that slumber was painful. Because I think that I knew that there was something else ~ something bigger, more profound, more beautiful ~ when I was little and I pushed it all down out to get away from the things that I could not explain. That becomes the malady of our human~ness. We come here Knowing, then forget and sometimes never wake up. And that seems so silly to me! Why don’t we keep that remembering??? Sigh. I do not know. But, I do know that when I woke up out of that numbing pain, I was free. And in that freedom of Spirit, I began to thrive instead of survive.

And that’s the goal right? To thrive. To share our unique light with this world. To become good shepherds to our Earth and to each other. Because when we share our Light we receive more Light and so it goes, ad infinitum…

The topic of pain has been haunting me~do we need pain for deep spiritual development? And if so, WHY? I thought thatChris Grosso, author of theIndie Spiritualistandthe upcoming Everything Mind, was one of the best people to bang that around with. Why? Well, because like me, Chris has been to hell and came out on the other side pretty damn spiritually awake.

Thich Nhat Hanhspeaks of be present in every moment of life, even the painful ones. When we are present, we Know the gift of life. And with that gift, there is joy and pain. I have come to realize, is that avoiding pain only deepens it. Instead, I must be present in that pain. And in the experiencing and allowing of that pain, I can then m-o-v-e through it. I must understand it, where does it come from? Is it even mine?? Being an empath, I find at times that I am experiencing pain that has no origin in my life. I have to ask the questions and follow where they lead me. That is the process of moving through it.

In that fashion, I learn how to love all aspects of my life and that brings me closer to fellow beings. It gives me a deeper look at my own humanity. And that leads to deeper awakenings. And in that, I can then look around me with less judgment and less restriction. I can come into deeper Oneness with all that is around me. Oneness with All That Is.Ram Dass, Chris’s favorite spiritual leader, puts it like this~

“As we grow in our consciousness, there will be more compassion and more love, and then the barriers between people, between religions, between nations will begin to fall. Yes, we have to beat down the separateness.”

With that, at least for now, I have my answer. The pain brings us closer to the compassion of another’s path. It opens us to humility and moves us deeper into Awareness. It makes it easier for judgment to fall away and see the Truth of our True Self…

Sharing the Light. I did not understand what that meant 20 years ago. I understood about feeling good or feeling bad, but, it never occured to me that how I went about my life actually vibrated out and effected the outcome of that day. And how it effected the outcome of others days. What I have come to understand about spreading energy is that what kind of energy I send out depends on how consciously I am moving through my day. When I first came upon this concept, I reacted with superiority ~ Conscious? Of course I am conscious! ~ I am awake and breathing and talking! But, truly, that is simply existing. I had no idea that my every thought created the whole universe that surrounded me. That universe included the negative and disparaging thoughts implanted by my bloodfamily and other outside people, that I kept alive and well in my head. And as I let those thoughts run on with abandon, I was creating a universe that mirrored and supported those thoughts. And all the time thinking that the problem was with the world outside of me. As I continued on my spiritual seeking path, I began to experience Lightness of Being and began to truly see the cause and effect of my thinking. I began to experience the beauty of sharing my Light as opposed to throwing around my Darkness. I became awakened to the Light all around me and longed to have that Light be the more powerful aspect of my day.

One of my favorite songs is “Bad” by U2 ~ it sums up to me what it feels to be Conscious. The word surrender moves through the song like a heartbeat as Bono sings:

If I could through myself Set your spirit free I’d lead your heart away See you break, break away Into the light And to the day

For me, sharing Light means kindness to others around me. The “others” could be people/birds/squirrels or Mother Earth. It also means kindness to myself. The rewards of spreading Light far out way the momentary gratification of making others wrong and blame. Hear this, my friends ~ Consciousness takes work. But, soon, like anything we strive for, work becomes play and habit becomes instinct. Are you ready to join me, because I AM wide awake…

To find out more about Father Tim Carr, how he spreads his Light and how you can help spread your Light at St. Johns in Boonton ~